In the Italian flat steel market prices have decreased sharply this week compared to prices which have remained flat for over a month. In fact, Italian mills were expecting to to raise their prices by €15-20/mt ($19-26/mt) after the summer holidays, however low domestic demand has prevented the mills from doing so. In contrast to their anticipation, Italian producers have been forced to review their prices down by €20-30/mt ($26-39/mt) compared to previous levels. Accordingly, hot rolled coils (HRC) are now being offered at the base price level of €470/mt ($606/mt), cold rolled coils (CRC) are at around €530-540/mt ($684-697/mt), while hot dip galvanized (HDG) coil prices are standing at €520/mt ($6714/mt), all ex-works.
Downstream flat steel demand has remained sluggish in Italy. The latest developments in the Ilva case -the producer has been directed to switch off a number of production facilities at its steel plant- are likely to have an impact on the domestic steel market, but not in the short term. According to market players consulted by SteelOrbis, flat steel demand is still too low and Ilva has large inventories. In general, however, producers and service centers keep their inventories at very low levels, as they fear that in December and January prices will drop further. The market climate continues to be uncertain and most market players are in a wait-and-see mode.
Meanwhile, in the import market, the European Commission's decision on the imposition of an anti-dumping duty on certain organic coated flat steel products originating in China has triggered a harsh competition between other exporters, including India, South Korea, Egypt, Turkey and Taiwan. For now, users are still trying to figure out what the most affordable offer is.
€1 = $1.29